Unpop Culture

I’m perplexed when people say a movie needs to be blatantly evangelical in order to bring glory to God. Unless a character gets saved (i.e., prays the “sinner’s prayer”) and/or the gospel is explicitly defined, the movie is a waste—so they say. That vexes me. I’m terribly vexed. (Thankfully, these people weren’t in charge of creation. If they had been, every blade of grass would be stamped with John 3:16 or something.) That being said, I think the gospel was unnecessarily dumbed down in End of the Spear . Unlike a work of fiction, this story is based on true events. Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian were real missionaries who were brutally killed while attempting to bring the gospel to the Waodani. I knew that going into the movie, and yet for the first thirty minutes of the film I was confused about what these men were actually attempting to do. (That they were missionaries and not just secular humanitarians was not clearly defined until later in t...

On her blog, Holly Ritchhart recently posted a hymn entitled, “His Love Can Never Fail,” by E.S. Hall. I absolutely love it. The first stanza goes like this: I do not ask to see the way My feet will have to tread; But only that my soul may feed Upon the living Bread. ‘Tis better far that I should walk By faith close to His side; I may not know the way I go, But oh, I know my Guide. My prideful heart often does want to know the way my feet will tread. I may know my Guide, but I also want to “know the way I go.” Anxiety is a common fruit of this mindset, and yesterday I struggled with a particularly strong episode of anxiety. Thankfully I had some free time in the afternoon, during which I found comfort in an unexpected place. As I was flipping through the pages of Isaiah, my eyes came across chapter 6. (Just to be clear: I’m not saying the Bible was the “unexpected place” of comfort—just this particular passage.) Sometimes in seeking answers to specific questions, I find God giving me a...

Repentance is a genuine aspect of salvation. A heart truly affected by the gospel will not be left unaffected by its sin. But repentance doesn’t stop with regeneration; it is to be a vital part of the believer’s experience. For much of my life, I have had a warped view of this doctrine. To me, repentance was looking at my sin with an attitude of, “How could I be like this? I know better than this. I am better than this. All right, I’ll try harder.” Such a mindset reveals legalism, not repentance. Too often, I have been more upset over my tarnished “track record” (which was tarnished from the outset of my existence) than the fact that I have violated the glory of God. Paul explains that godly sorrow is different from worldly sorrow. Godly sorrow produces heartfelt repentance, which leads to genuine salvation, not to be regretted. The sorrow of the world, however, produces death (see 2 Corinthians 7:9-11). God is showing me the need for what I’m calling persistent repentance . I like the...

Okay, so a new movie review for a film that's been out for a while isn't the greatest thing in the world. Well, the review isn't exactly new--I wrote it several weeks ago--but I couldn't have posted it earlier because I only created my blog today. Besides, it is only the beginning of 2006, and it wouldn't hurt for me to comment on what I think was the best film of 2005. Read on... KING KONG (2005) Even four days before King Kong opened, I had no interest in seeing the movie. The trailers completely failed to engage my interest. As an independent filmmaker (albeit, a fairly inexperienced one), I can’t watch movies without analyzing them to death. Very rarely do I come across a film that I consider both expertly created and thoroughly engaging. The hype surrounding King Kong failed to hype me up at all. But as I started hearing one rave review after another, and in the process learning a little more of the story (I’ve never seen any of the previous Kong flicks),...

A few notes about my blog title: First, I am not attempting to make fun of the United States. On the contrary, I’m quite patriotic and a big fan of Abraham Lincoln. (Hence, the play on words.) In spite of her problems, the U.S. is a country blessed by the grace of God with innumerable freedoms and privileges. Second, the word “scores” refers to music composed for movies. For the few thousand of us in the world who listen to film music, scores make up a fine musical genre worthy of our admiration and respect. Scores should not be confused with those deplorable “songs inspired by” collections. Those are not scores. Those are evil. If you want a good idea of what music sounded like before the Fall, listen to film scores. If you want a good idea of how the Fall affected music, listen to “songs inspired by” albums.

I haven’t been the biggest fan of blogs, as they tend to both waste time and encourage narcissism. That and the fact that there are, like, a gazillion weirdoes out there—you know who you are (in fact, stop reading my blog!)—who gather others’ personal information for devious purposes. I don’t like being used for devious purposes. It’s rather…devious. So, I will not post my social security number, bank account details, blood type, and other personal information for all to view. If you want that kind of stuff, you’ll have to e-mail me. (Ha! Just kidding.) I have preferred message boards, in part because they involve more interaction with others. Why start a blog now? For several reasons: 1) Everyone else is doing it 2) If I am to maintain my individuality in this world of blogging I must conform to the status quo 3) As a writer, I would like a convenient corner of cyberspace in which to hone my skills 4) As an independent filmmaker who likes to write, I’ve wanted a place to archive my mu...